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High School Baseball- Senior Year
Josh Hamilton played for Athens Drive High School in Raleigh, North Carolina. He was 6'4" and 200 pounds. He ran a 6.7 second 60 yard dash and was clocked at 96 MPH on the mound. His batting average was .529 with 13 Home Runs, 20 steals, 35 RBIs, and 34 Runs Scored in 25 games played. He was the top rated prospect coming out of High School. This as important in his life because it was what would start his MLB career and it got his name known to many people. -
MLB Draft
Hamilton was picked first overall by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 1999 MLB Draft. He recieved a $3.96 million signing bonus. He spent the rest of the year playing in the Devil Rays minor league system.This gave Hamilton a lot of money and even further marketed him, because anyone who payed attention to baseball that year would know who was taken #1 in the draft. -
Breakout Minor League Year with Charleston Devil Rays
In Hamilton's first full year in the Minor Leagues, he finished with a .301 average, 13 Home Runs, and 61 RBIs in 96 games. He was selected to the 2000 All Stars Futures game, which is an annual game that showcases minor league prospects. This made people buy into him even more because in doing well, he was able to even further market himself. -
Car Accident
Josh and his parents were in a car accident with a truck. Hamilton suffers a back injury and is placed on the DL 23 games into the season. Being on the DL gave Hamilton a lot of free time which got involved with the wrong people and the wrong things. This event made people pay even more attention to him because they wanted toknow how one of the best minor league prospects was doing. He was able to market himself because of a negative event. -
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Hamilton Barely Plays because of Injuries and Baseball
Hamilton was placed pn the DL and had a lot of free time. He was not smart and started to hang out at a tatoo parlor and get involved with bad things and bad people. He got involved with drugs and became addicted. At the start of the 2002 season, the Rays saw that Hamilton had a drug problem and sent him away fo rehab. This was a negative event on the public opinon of him because they did not want to cheer for a drug addict so many people stoppedpaying attention him. -
Hamilton Fails Drug Test
Hamilton fails his first drug test and started showing up late to practices and workouts. He was reassigned into the minor leagues and ended up taking the rest of the season off due to personal reasons. This was mostly to his addiction to cocaine and alcohol. Hamilton again negatively marketed himself because people were not interested in someone who was a drug addict. -
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Hamilton Fails More Drug Tests, Suspenions, and Arrests
In the beginning of the 2004 season, Hamilton failed another drug test and was suspended for 30 days. After coming back, he failed his next two drug tests, so by rule he was suspended for the entire 2004 season. He tried to come back for the 2005 season but was unable to after he was arrested for smashing the windshield of a friend's truck. The Rays placed him on the restricted list, moving him off the 40 man roster. In 2006, after more failed drug tests, Hamilton was suspended for the season. -
Rule 5 Draft
Hamilton is selected in the Rule 5 Draft by the Chicago Cubs, who immediately traded him to the Cincinatti Reds for $100,000. Hamilton wa called the best playerin the Rule 5 draft in years. Hamilton new tht in order to play baseball again he would have to give up drugs. After he was suspended for the 2006 season, Hamiltion went through rehab and broke his addictions. By doing this, Hamilton was able to once again positively market himself to the MLB and to fans. -
Hamilton Plays for Cincinatti Reds
The Reds, in order to keep the rights to Hamilton, had to keep on the 25 man roster. They had planned to use him as a fourth outfielder, but after an injury to starting center fielder Ryan Freel, Hamilton started for most of the year. He had a very successful year with the Reds and had turned his life around. This year allowed him to once again be a popular figure within the MLB and allowed to market a product, himself and the team that he played for. -
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Texas Rangers
Hamilton was traded from the Reds to the Texas Rangers after the 2007 season. Hamilton became a star with the Rangers due to his success as a player and his story. He was considered to be the biggest offensive threat in the Rangers Lineup. -
Hamilton's 2008 and 2009 Years
2008-Hamilton had a great year recieving Player of the Month in April and May. He was selected to his first All Star Game and was in the Home Run Derby. He set the record for most Home Runs in one round of the Derby with 25.
2009-Hamiltion started out the year well had to be placed on the DL for a slight abdominal tear and was out for 5 weeks.He was still selected to the All Star Game by the fans. These two years even further marketed Hamilton and made him one of the big names in the MLB. -
Bar Slip Up
Hamilton suffered a slip in early August 2009. Sports blog Deadspin.com posted photos of Hamilton shirtless in a bar in Tempe, Arizona, with several women. According to reports, witnesses saw Hamilton drinking,and heard him asking where he could obtain cocaine.Hamilton held a press conference to apologize for his actions. This did not have a negative impact on his image to the public that much because he apologized for his actions. -
Hamilton's 2010 Year
Hamilton had a breakout year in 2010. He was once again selected to the All Star Game. He took his team to the World Series, on the way gathering the ALCS MVP. He finished the year with a .359 batting average, a .411 On-Base-Percentage, 32 Home Runs,and over 100 RBIs. Hamilton recieved the 2010 AL MVP award for his outstanding season. With this season, Hamilton's image with the public was the best ever. He positively marketed himself and his team. -
Hamilton's 2011 and 2012 Years
2011- Although he fractured his Humerus in April, Hamilton was still able to be an All Star in 2011. Hamilton batted .298 with 25 Home Runs in 2011.
2012- Hamilton had another stong year and set the recored for most votes for one player to be in the All Star Game with over 11 million. Hamilton was able to keep his image and his marketability positive with these two years by staying out of trouble and having relatively good years.
